UNITED NATIONS - Israel's plan to take over Gaza City sparked widespread outrage at a rare emergency weekend meeting held Sunday by the UN Security Council. Yet the session ended with no resolution as the United States, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, sided with Israel.

"If these (Israeli) plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction, compounding the unbearable suffering of the population," UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca warned the Council.

Israel's Security Cabinet on Thursday approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to "take control" of Gaza City and the surrounding areas, with little detail specified. According to the Israeli media, Israel has set Oct 7, the second anniversary of the latest round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as a deadline for civilians to leave Gaza before its ground offensive.

"We are already witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe of unimaginable scale in Gaza," Jenca said, reiterating that the only way to stop the immense human suffering in Gaza is through a full, immediate, and permanent ceasefire. Jenca called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as rapid, safe, unimpeded and large-scale delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave.

The European members of the Security Council -- Britain, Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia -- which called for the emergency meeting, also condemned the Israeli decision, calling for the plan to be reversed and for urgent action to halt starvation in the Gaza Strip.

The five countries "reiterate that any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law" in a joint statement before the meeting, cautioning that expanding military operations will only worsen civilian suffering.

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Most of the Council members expressed similar concerns and criticism. China called for a rejection of "any attempts to alter the demographic or territorial status of Gaza," while Russia described the Israeli plan as "extremely dangerous steps" undermining "the already fragile prospects for the peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict."

Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, called Israel's takeover plan "illegal and immoral," urging "the mobilization of all the tools available to stop them."

"Israel is prolonging the war not to disarm Hamas, but to prevent independent Palestinian statehood," Mansour warned. "Its goal is the destruction of the Palestinian people through forced transfer and massacres to facilitate its annexation of their land."

Also at the meeting, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that hunger in Gaza has reached "starvation, pure and simple," with hunger-related deaths rising, especially among children with severe malnutrition, and aid deliveries severely hampered by insecurity and access restrictions.  

Palestinian journalists

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the killing of six Palestinian journalists in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, on Monday.

"These latest killings highlight the extreme risks journalists continue to face when covering this ongoing war," Dujarric told a daily briefing.

The secretary-general called for an independent and impartial investigation into these killings, he said.

At least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began, said the spokesman.

The secretary-general underscores that journalists and media workers must be respected and protected and allowed to carry out their work free from intimidation or harm, Dujarric said.  

Malnourished children

UN humanitarians on Monday demanded urgent action as Gaza's health authorities reported that more than 100 children have died from malnutrition since the war began in October 2023.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said its relief partners in Gaza described surpassing the 100 deaths as a "devastating milestone that shames the world and demands long overdue urgent action."

More than 300,000 children remain at severe risk, and more than a third of the Gaza population reports not eating for days at a time, the World Food Program said.

It said that to meet the basic humanitarian food assistance needs in Gaza, more than 62,000 tonnes are required every month. So far, humanitarians have not been permitted to bring in enough supplies to support the survival of the 2 million people in Gaza.

OCHA said the United Nations and its partners reported they were able to collect some food, fuel and supplies, including hygiene kits, from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing on Sunday. However, the supplies were offloaded before the trucks reached their destination.

The office said the fuel also transited the same crossing.

OCHA said the Israeli authorities allow an average of approximately 150,000 liters daily. It remains far below the minimum required to sustain life-saving operations. The Palestine Civil Defense reported that more than half of its ambulances have stopped operating across Gaza, due to a shortage of fuel and spare parts.

The Food and Agriculture Organization last week warned that only 1.5 percent of cropland in Gaza is both accessible and undamaged, signaling a near-total collapse of the local food system.

Ramesh Rajasingham, director of OCHA's Coordination Division, in a rare Sunday UN Security Council session, described humanitarian conditions in Gaza as "beyond horrific."

He also expressed deep concern over the prolonged conflict and reports of atrocities and a further human toll that is likely to unfold following Israel's decision to expand military operations in Gaza, calling it a "grave escalation in a conflict that has already inflicted unimaginable suffering."

Rajasingham said that whatever lifelines remain in Gaza are collapsing under the weight of sustained hostilities, forced displacement, and insufficient levels of life-saving aid.

Also on Sunday, Israeli forces struck a tent in front of Al Shifa Hospital and killed six journalists inside. Since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, more than 240 journalists have been killed. OCHA reiterated that all civilians, including journalists, must be protected under international humanitarian law.